The reactions of two selected ethers, methyl n-butyl ether (MnBE) and methyl s-butyl ether (MsBE), with three atmospheric oxidants (OH/NO3/Cl) have been investigated at 298 +/- 2 K using the relative rate method and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The reaction trends of these short chain aliphatic ethers with the different oxidants have been discussed. From the obtained results, the reaction with OH is the main tropospheric loss process for MnBE and MsBE, with lifetimes of 19.2 h and 26.8 h, respectively. These short lifetimes indicate that the chemistry of these aliphatic ethers is important in areas close to their emission sources.